Chapter Four

Paige glanced up from her computer to the fresh batch of “I’m sorry” tulips from Richard. They were in full bloom, while she remained shriveled on the inside. There was nothing he could do to get her back, especially after her night with Brenden.

Memories of the passion burning in Brenden’s mesmerizing blue-gray eyes and their bodies entangled came more often than she liked. The first week following their erotic encounter was the worst. She couldn’t close her eyes without thinking of him kneeling between her legs or his husky voice whispering naughty thoughts in her ear. Never would she forget that he had claimed her body in a way no other man had.

A long breath escaped her lips. She pressed pause on the images streaming through her head. Nothing had changed in two months. The tall, sexy-as-hell man with those cosmic eyes danced around her mind more now than the morning after.

A part of her wished to see him again. She gave serious consideration to employing Bellamy’s Google detective skills in hopes of finding the elusive Brenden.

On the contrary, there was the other half of her. Regrets ran deep for how she abandoned her moral principles to indulge in a scandalous one-night stand. The personal ridicule she suffered was endless and confirmed her fears of rejection after the way Brenden got up from the bed and left to shower. Maybe she ought to be grateful he squashed the awkward “goodbye” moment.

“Dr. Nichols,” a small voice called to her from the open doorway.

“Come in, Sabrina.” Paige pushed her thoughts away and focused on the middle-aged woman entering her office, fidgeting with a manila folder. “Is everything okay?”

“Well, I’m not sure.” The woman’s timid speech forced Paige to sit up in her chair. “The provost’s office called requesting your notes on Kathryn Ashmore.”

“What’s the problem?”

“They didn’t want you to know.” Sabrina’s speedy words brought Paige to her feet, reaching for the paperwork. “Here’s the student’s file. You signed a Notice of Dismissal about a week ago.”

“I remember Kathryn.” Paige took the file from Sabrina, scanning her notes while recalling meetings with the college freshman. The student had become an orphan after losing her mother her senior year of high school and entered Andover during the summer semester as opposed to waiting for the fall. This was her third term at the university, and academically she was struggling. “Did they say anything else?”

“No, only that they needed the file immediately.”

“Humph, I’ll take it myself.” Paige closed the folder and sidestepped her desk. Why had she gone from pet to threat with her boss? Ever since she’d been invited to speak at the HigherEd conference on her research of art therapy and student success, the provost had treated her like a new PhD. “If they call before I get there, just tell them it’s on the way.” She’d be damned if her decisions were called into question without notice.

Paige moved down the stairs and through the corridors of the student services building, all the while her mind processing the two meetings she’d had with Kathryn. The girl had been pleasant despite an aura of sadness, surely due to the loss of her parents.

Like many students landing on the wrong side of the dean’s list, Kathryn seemed sincere in wanting to improve her grades. Yet the girl no-showed for grief counseling and wanted no pity after receiving a second notice of academic probation. Paige empathized with the student’s decision to pursue a college education. However, it became apparent school served as merely a distraction from the reality of never seeing her parents again.

The problem with employing such an illogical strategy was that without proper counseling, her full potential would never be achieved. There was tangible proof in comparing Kathryn’s entrance exams to the below average grades she earned in summer and fall classes.

Paige sucked down the remorse she had over dismissing the pre-med major from the university. She had been willing to counsel the girl herself because she knew what life was like after losing someone you loved. But there wasn’t much she could do if the girl never attended her grief counseling. Therefore, there could be no exceptions. Academic policy prevailed, and Paige had simply executed one of her many duties as the Director of Academic Affairs.

When she arrived at the Office of the President and stepped inside the glass doors, she immediately noted that something was off. The normal upbeat atmosphere of the office was silent as death.

“Uhh, Dr. Nichols”—the receptionist’s face turned beet red—“is there something I can help you with?”

“You ask the question like you mean it, Marla.” Paige paused, checking her tone. “I understand the provost is looking for a file. Where is he?”

The woman shot up from her chair. “Give me a minute. He’s in a meeting with President McPherson.”

Paige fisted her hands onto her hips. She watched Marla cross the large floor medallion of a Raider decked out in blood red and midnight black. The university’s mascot was the only thing she never identified with, until now. Paige embodied the spirit of a raider and was ready to launch a surprise attack on anyone attempting to undermine her work at this prestigious academic institution.

At the sound of the ten-foot oak doors clicking, Paige glanced up to see Marla in step with the provost. Not being able to decipher their hushed whispers made untamed anxiety ripple through her, giving her goose bumps as she watched the provost scrub his face after exchanging gloomy glimpses with Marla.

“Paige, what are you doing here?” The man’s hands jerked into his pockets as he cut his gaze to the oak doors.

“I’m fine, thanks, Stephen. How are you?” Her short reply made the bald, bespectacled man take a deep breath. “Why do you need this?” She held out the file. “And why was it requested behind my back?”

Stephen nudged her by the elbow and ushered her to an isolated corner. “The situation is, um, a bit delicate.”

“Explain.”

“The lieutenant colonel and Kathryn Ashmore are in the president’s office. The Notice of Dismissal has presented unintended consequences.”

“Why wasn’t I contacted?” Paige stepped back from his grip. “I could’ve handled this.”

“Not in the best interest of Andover.” Stephen’s eyes floated back to the oak doors. “The girl’s family,” he whispered, “they’re a military dynasty.

“They founded the ROTC program here. General August Jasper, the famous Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is her great-grandfather, and his name adorns our Military Science building. The current four-star general serving as our nation’s Secretary of Defense is her grandfather. Her uncle, the Lieutenant Colonel sitting inside the president’s office, wrote a check to the university six months ago in excess of two million dollars for the expansion of our ROTC facilities. This is not a bridge we care to burn.”

“Oh.” Paige recoiled, curling her lip. “So money trumps academic policy? What abou—”

“Dr. Jankowski.” The harsh voice of President McPherson froze her and Stephen. “Where’s the file from—” Preston McPherson rounded the corner. His scowl upturned into a smirk. “Well, Dr. Nichols, what brings you here?”

Preston’s snide tone was unsettling. Paige never liked seeing this side of the man who had been her mentor for the last nine years. At nineteen, and as the youngest graduate student in her major, she had been intimidated by his razor-sharp tongue and keen academic insight. In spite of that, she fell under the wings of the then Vice-President of Academic Affairs and became his star pupil. Preston guarded Paige like a daughter while imparting his knowledge and developing her leadership capabilities. His mentorship allowed her to become the youngest woman appointed to the Director of Academic Affairs position for such an esteemed institution.

“A file. I was just leaving.” She turned on her heel.

“No, please stay. In fact, join us.” McPherson folded his arms, looking down at her. “I’ve spent the last forty minutes pouring water over this fire. Perhaps the remaining frustration can be dished onto you while I search for an ethical solution to reinstate the student.”

…

Brenden pushed from his chair and stood looking over his niece for a moment. Her tear-filled face and Notice of Dismissal from Andover University was not part of the welcome home he anticipated after being gone for more than two months. Especially since his team’s capture of Fajheed had just put targets on their backs.

Right now, he should’ve been in a sit-rep deciphering the intel uncovered from the capture and drop mission of Fajheed instead of being inside Preston McPherson’s cushy office. Operation Jackal was on the horizon, and every minute he spent arguing against Katie’s dismissal allowed black market weapons to enter the hands of the militant terrorist organization his team had been tracking for the last two years.

Basically, he didn’t have time to fuck around and play some little political game to get Katie reinstated.

“Uncle Bren, do you think they’re really going to kick me out?” Katie sniffled.

Her words slashed his heart. Katie sounded so much like Elizabeth, her mother and his sister. She looked like her, too, with giant blue eyes and shoulder-length, sandy-blond hair. Those classic good looks had been passed straight down the gene pool.

They had always afforded Elizabeth rare opportunities, many of which his sister should have learned to refuse. She didn’t, and that was part of the reason his niece became an orphan in his custody at seventeen.

“I should hope not.” He sighed. “Not after it seems this Dr. Nichols and her department managed to let you slip through the cracks.”

Brenden struggled to remain even-keeled. The anger boiling inside him over watching his niece cry was getting harder to contain. Snow would fall in Florida before he let Katie get put out on her ass from school. The only dream his niece had left was graduating from her mother’s alma mater.

Yet, something had brought them to this point. Katie’s actions had consequences, and he had been naïve. Too much freedom and that damn car. The guilt trip his mother made him suffer for his time away had sent him running to the dealership, returning with a shiny new car for Katie.

What he should’ve been doing was finding ways to support his niece during his absences instead of pacifying her with gifts and freedom to ease mourning the loss of Elizabeth. This was a mess he knew he’d helped create. He had to fix it and fast, before his sister sat up in her grave.

Katie blowing her nose and voices from the other side of the door refocused his attention. A feminine voice had joined those belonging to McPherson and Jankowski. When the handle clicked and the door opened, Brenden’s chest constricted until it turned into a dull ache. Never had he imagined this moment.

“Yes, of course,” the woman said as she moved into the office between McPherson and Jankowski.

Brenden turned his back on the door and slammed his eyes shut.

That voice.

New Year’s Eve flooded his mind at the scent of her. Two months, two days, and twelve hours had passed since Paige stole away like a thief in the night. In all his thirty-four years, no woman had ever left him like that. No woman had made him feel—Paige had become the complication he never wanted. The woman in the green dress had his mind fucked up.

And fuckups couldn’t be afforded in his line of work. They got you killed.

Which was why he needed to forget the brown beauty. Impossible. There was an invisible thread stitching him to her. He felt it the moment he first saw her and even now as her beautiful complexion glowed beneath a periwinkle shift dress.

He didn’t want to believe his beauty was the callous administrator his niece had described. Yet his loyalties were to Katie. Anger unfurled within him, slowing the rush of blood to his heart and dismissing the way seeing Paige made him feel. He remembered that he knew nothing of the woman except she had pussy beyond compare. He knew the thought was belittling, considering the many days and nights he’d spent with thoughts of her consuming his mind.

Besides, he figured if he kept thinking of Paige in this marginal way, he wouldn’t be tempted to do something he’d regret. Regret along the lines of hauling her into his arms, taking a palmful of her marvelous ass, and stealing a taste of her lips.

Shit…

Why did it have to be her?

…

“You remember Kathryn?” McPherson’s intro brought the girl to her feet.

“Yes, hello, Kathryn,” Paige replied, crossing the room to shake the student’s hand before she glanced over to the window.

The back of the tall, muscle-clad figure seemed familiar and had an amazing—

New Year’s flashed before Paige when her eyes stopped on black flames dancing wildly against a well-defined, tanned arm. Her lips puckered, remembering how she had kissed Brenden’s ink, and then her heart did a fifty-yard dash not even Usain Bolt could catch.

“It’s Katie.”

A snooty, mean-girl tone ripped Paige’s memory from one of the most passionate nights of her life.

“Be polite.” The sharp command from across the room contradicted the southern tenor Paige had heard for the first time many nights ago while attempting to retrieve her phone.

None other than Brenden turned to face the group.

He and Paige locked eyes as he began moving toward them. Slivers of delight pricked her skin as he moved closer. He was even more devastating in a simple, fitted black tee exposing his godlike physique before tucking into black cargo pants. There was this rugged mystery clinging to him. She wanted to discover more of it and longed to remove his black cap to see the depth of his enchanting eyes.

“This is Katie’s uncle, Lieutenant Colonel Brenden Jasper,” McPherson boasted then turned to Paige. “Brenden, this is Dr. Paige Nichols.”

Paige extended her arm as Brenden did the same. The minute her hand slipped into his, she thought her knees might buckle. “Nice to meet you, Lieute—”

“Mr. Jasper is fine,” he clipped.

“Yes,” her brows furrowed, “of course. Well, I understand there are questions surrounding Kathryn’s Notice of Dismissal.”

“Questions?” Brenden let out a mocking snort. “She’s joking, right?” He snatched his hand away.

Paige locked her tongue behind her teeth. How she managed to maintain professional decorum despite his rudeness was his blessing. As she contemplated choking his ego, his cold eyes sliced McPherson before settling back on her. “My niece’s future is in jeopardy, and you’re the one who gave the order. I didn’t come here for answers on your botched dismissal, Dr. Nichols. I came for a remedy to Katie’s dilemma, which includes her remaining a student of this fine institution.”

“Why don’t we all have a seat?” Jankowski chimed.

Everyone took their respective seats. Brenden’s eyes honed in on Paige. She held her head high and challenged whatever authority he marched into McPherson’s office with, because privilege would not win this game. She didn’t care if it had put his last name on the university’s military science building.

His niece had exhibited significant stressors that were causing her to underperform, and she’d ignored all interventions. At least now Paige knew why. It was apparent the girl always knew she could just have her uncle roll into the president’s office because their family signed donor checks.

“Now, Brenden,” McPherson put on his political hat. “The process to reinstate Katie is—”

“Kathryn is not fit to be reinstated as a student of Andover University.”

“Dr. Nichols!” McPherson’s bulldog bark leveled the room to pin-drop silence.

Paige switched her attention from Brenden to McPherson and then back to Brenden.

“Mr. Jasper deserves the truth.”

“What is the truth, Dr. Nichols?” Brenden asked, cocking his head. “Because right now it’s blurry. I have my niece telling me she’s sought your help and assistance from advisors in your stead only to get the runaround. Katie says every time she comes to your office she gets a different answer.” He stood and stalked toward Paige. “Let me be frank, ma’am. It seems you and your office have been incompetent where my niece is concerned. How do you have the gall to declare my niece unfit when it seems you haven’t been doing your job?”

“How dare you!” Paige sprang from her chair, meeting Brenden where he stood on the opposite side of Katie. “I’ve had more than a few conversations with your niece. Kathryn uses school as a Band-Aid to cover the pain she still experiences from the death of her parents. She has potential”—Paige looked to the girl and gave a wilted smile—“but without someone to help her through this rough patch, she will remain lost.”

“Dr. Nichols,” Jankowski spoke with all his authority. “Please excuse yourself.”

Paige swallowed hard, Brenden seemingly even harder. The heat igniting between them would burn Satan out of hell.

“You need to leave, Dr. Nichols.” Brenden’s lips pressed. He hesitated then glanced to Katie before taking a single step back.

“Gladly.” With a simple spin of the heel, Paige turned and left the president’s office.